Expulsion
by Cookie Pixie
Summary: [Silverwing] Marina Brightwing's expulsion. Based on Marina's telling in 'Silverwing'. Finally uploaded and COMPLETE.
1. Tiger Moth

The dramatized events of Marina Brightwing's expulsion and her backstory. If you haven't read Kenneth Oppel's _Silverwing_ (or _Sunwing_ or _Firewing_, for that matter), I can't really understand why you'd be reading this...but if you are, cheers!  
Er, if you still don't know, Marina is a bat. And I would love to recategorize the placement of this fanfiction in Fanfiction.net, but I can't find a Kenneth Oppel or Silverwing category. Shameful, isn't it. 

* * *

Tiger moth!  
Not even a year old, Marina Brightwing was already on the moth, expertly diving and weaving in the foliage as she locked onto the bug. Already her mouth was watering in anticipation - or maybe she was confusing it with the dampness in the air, the rain that the morning before had brought.  
No matter. There was a bug to be had!  
The sleek bat dived to the side, keeping her eyes wide open on the tiger moth. The bug was spraying fake echoes everywhere, and it was hard to keep track of which one was the real tiger moth.  
Marina burst out of the trees, into a clearing that still glittered with bright raindrops. She opened her mouth wide, prepared to make a final lunge on the doomed bug -   
**"HELP!"**


	2. Sliver of Moon

A review! (I think I'll go cry in joy now.) Yes, and I've mosied on over to here, thanks a lot Icefly()!  
I know you guys hear this a lot, but...PLEASE REVIEW! 

* * *

Suddenly Marina couldn't move. She was pinned to the air, her wings stuck to some invisible...thing. She couldn't even see it in her echo vision, let alone her eyes.  
Marina struggled frantically, pulling at whatever had her wings caught. But whatever it was - net? web? - had her tight, bound well to it.  
Marina gasped for breath, trying to calm down. _How long will I stay here?_ she thought, forcing down her panic. _If I'm here at sunrise..._  
The young bat shuddered at the thought. _I said _don't_ panic!_ "Mom! Dad!" she yelled. "Anyone? Please help!"  
And then she felt the ground shake underneath her. Marina shivered in fear, trying to find the source of the vibrations, when...  
Two large beings suddenly appeared, glowing brightly in her echo vision, and Marina instantly recognized them: Humans. One of them carried a small lamp that illuminated the area, but just enough so it didn't hurt the Brightwing's eyes. The other one held a container that looked unusually bulky.  
Marina shivered. _Do I want to know what's in that thing?_  
The Human with the lamp set it on the ground, then reached out and grabbed something. Marina was abruptly hauled into the air, and she screamed as she felt herself puppeted over to the other Human, who was opening up his bag.  
"What's going on?" she screamed, terrified. "Stop!"  
The Humans didn't understand her, nor did they speak, which only served to intensify the young bat's terror. The first Human reached down and plucked Marina free from the net, only to have him wrap his strong fingers around her body. Marina struggled, screaming all the time, but she felt him stroke the top of her head, as if to calm her down.  
"What are you doing?" Marina demanded again, shaking as she tried to free her wings, tried to free herself and take off into flight, but she knew that it would be hopeless. Marina snapped her jaws, trying to bite her captor's hand, but it was too tough. She heard one of the Humans communicate to the other, the one with the bag, in a low voice that she couldn't begin to understand.  
The other Human took out a small piece of silver, and Marina caught her breath. It glowed in her echo vision, like a strip of the brightest thing she could imagine. She could see strange Human markings on it, but the bat couldn't figure out their mysterious meanings.  
The Human holding her captive lifted a few fingers and stretched out her wing, and Marina could tell that he was trying not to hurt her. She relaxed, too fascinated to fight, as the other Human snapped the band on her forearm.  
Marina curved her wing inwards, staring at the band curiously. _What is this?_ she asked herself. _What does it mean?_  
The Human holding her captive stroked her head one more time, then released her into the air. For a moment Marina found herself tumbling through air, unsure of where she was, then righted herself and streaked into the sky.  
  
For a long while Marina stared down at the two Humans, watching as one of them took a stick and made markings with it.  
Elation filled the young bat - elation over what, Marina wasn't sure, but she sure was happy. She had never felt so special, so...chosen! She did a little backflip in the air, finding herself whole and complete still, but with an extra addition.  
In the moonlight the band on her forearm glowed only more brightly, like a sliver that had fallen from the moon itself. Marina felt a little giddy with joy, knowing that no other bats in the colony could boast of something so strange, but so blessedly beautiful in its own curious way.  
Abandoning her own night hunt, Marina streaked back to the rest of her colony, anxious to tell someone else of her experience. 


	3. Parental Guidance

People are reading this? *looks at reviews* AAH... Wow, thank you very much for all the reviews! I took names from various sources, as I don't think Kenneth Oppel has actually mentioned the names of any other Brightwing other than Marina... 

* * *

"Mom! Dad!"  
Barely fifty wingbeats away Marina could see her parents roosting together in a tree, surrounded by pale buds. Her father Raphael was large for a Brightwing, stern and commanding - Marina thought that one day he'd make a good elder. Demeter was sweet and kind, but Marina felt that her mother could be too overprotective at times.  
"Mom! Dad!" Marina yelled again. She flew straight at the branch, flipping over quickly and roosting next to her mother. Sticking out her wing, Marina could barely contain her joy. "Look!"  
Their reactions were not what Marina had expected. The two adults immediately went into shock, their eyes blank and devoid of emotion. Demeter suddenly burst into tears, crying.  
"Mom?" Marina asked, her face falling. "What...what's wrong?"  
Raphael wrapped his wings around his mate, his face tightening as his eyes stared at the band. Demeter continued to cry, shaking the branch with each sob.  
"Dad?" Marina was thoroughly confused. "What's wrong?"  
For the first time Raphael couldn't look at his daughter.  
"I think it's better if we go see the elders," he finally said, glancing away.  
  
Marina followed her parents as they quickly flew over to a large tree, where the elders were roosting. She didn't think all of the elders would be there - some of them had to hunt, right? - and wasn't surprised when her parents only found two female elders and one male elder.  
Marina didn't really know the male elder - she was sure his name was Lynx, which suited the predatory look he got when he went out to hunt - but she knew the other two. Iris was beautiful, as elders went: her fur was slightly darker than most Brightwings, her wings curved elegantly and ears delicate. She was probably the youngest of all the elders, and Marina liked her the best. The other elder was named Lumina, and Marina found the name suiting. Lumina glowed where Iris didn't, and while the other elder seemed to look fragile, although she wasn't, Lumina was large and powerful, her old wings still able to give powerful wingbeats.  
"Iris, Lumina, Lynx," Raphael said when the three bats had landed and roosted beneath the elders. "There is something we must show you."  
"Raphael, what is wrong?" asked Lumina, truly concerned.  
Iris looked further back, sighting Marina. Her mouth was going to curl into a smile until she saw the band on Marina's forearm.  
Had she not been an elder, Marina was sure that Iris' jaw would've simply dropped. However, she was dignified, and Iris nudged Lumina with her wing.  
"Lumina, Lynx...look at Marina's wing," she said to her fellow elders, her face grave.  
The other two bats looked at Marina, and they too were shocked into silence. Marina shifted uncomfortably, trying to figure out what was wrong.  
"It's...it's just a band," Marina stammered. This was the opposite of what she had felt only a few minutes before: now Marina was scared, more scared than she could ever imagine. "I mean, what's wrong?"  
"Raphael, Demeter, please leave us," Lynx said, his voice just as grave as Iris'.  
Demeter fluttered towards Marina. She reached out, as if to hug her, then suddenly shrunk back, afraid.  
"Mom, what's wrong?" Marina asked, terrified at her mother's reaction. "What's going to happen to me?"  
Raphael extended his wings and wrapped them around Demeter in a hug. He whispered something into his mate's ear before taking flight.  
"Mom?" Marina asked quietly.  
"Marina, everything's going to be fine," Demeter said, but they both knew that it wasn't true. She leaned forward, forcing herself to get closer to her daughter, then backed away again. "We love you, and...goodbye, good luck..."  
Words suddenly failing the mother, Demeter abruptly stretched her wings and took off. 


	4. True Stories

When her parents had disappeared Marina turned to face the elders. The looks in their faces made Marina now dread whatever her band had given her.  
"Marina...there is something about that band we must tell you," Lumina finally said, looking straight at the young bat. "It is unclean."  
Marina jumped back in shock. "Unclean?" she repeated.  
"Unclean. Cursed," answered Lynx. His eyes seemed to give off a strange glitter. "Terrible things have happened to bats that got banded."  
Marina began to rock back and forth. She trusted the elders with everything, but this...they could be lying... She held her head in her wings, trying to think.  
"It was an accident...I just flew, and they caught me..."  
"It was no accident," Lynx said sharply. He rustled his wings. "You have been tainted. Unclean bats have been known to explode into flame, like Aura and Gabriel. Maria's wings fell off two summers ago, during migration. And some bats, like Pegasus and Penelope, they simply died; the bands killed them. Fortunately, they left before they infected more bats."  
Marina's eyes were wide, unable to imagine the horrors. Wings falling off, spontaneously bursting into fire...  
She quickly focused on Iris, who finally spoke.  
"Marina, you must leave our colony at once," she said. Her voice was uncannily cold. "You will have several hours of night flying before sunrise."  
"Leave?" spluttered Marina. She had imagined of adventures, of travelling the world, but to simply leave? "When can I return?"  
"You cannot return," Lynx cut in. "You are unclean, and you must leave before it spreads to the rest of the colony."  
Lumina raised her wings, spreading them in judgment.  
"Marina Brightwing, you are hereby expelled from the Brightwing colony. You are forbidden to be seen or heard by any Brightwing bats. Never return to us." 


	5. Little Plans

Thank you all for your feedback! For the longest time I thought, "Wow, no reviews, no one's reading it probably." And then...wow. Reviews. Thank you very much! (And, uh, here's another short cliffhanger...) 

* * *

A few minutes before dawn, Marina was still careening headlong through the forest, blinded by tears and the ringing in her ears, spinning out of control. She could neither see nor hear where she was going, but it didn't matter, did it. There was no place she could go, no one to accept her.  
Somehow, in some bizarre twist of fate, Marina didn't die. She flew low enough for any wild animals to leap and bite her, dazed enough to smash into a tree or rock, but she was alive.  
Too exhausted to keep flying, Marina dropped into a large knothole, a used squirrel's den, and quickly fell asleep.  
  
Marina woke up at dusk, confused by the wild nightmare from the night before.  
"Mom, I..."  
Her voice stuck to her throat. She was alone, no one around her.  
The nightmare returned, and Marina felt hot tears course through her fur.  
"Why...why why why..." she sobbed as last night flared in her memory like echo vision. The tiger moth, the Humans, the band, her parents, the elders...the expulsion... "No...it isn't true...what am I going to do..."  
Slowly Marina got herself under control, and she looked out the opening. _I can't stay here and cry...nothing to be done._  
Marina shifted anxiously, claws digging into wood. _What am I going to do?_  
_Follow the colony._  
The thought slithered into her head, uncontrolled. Marina tilted her head, snapping up a termite at the same time. She chewed on the bug and swallowed as she mulled over the idea.  
She could follow the colony. Stay back as far as she could, but not lose sight of them. Eventually they'd reach the summer roost, and she'd just find her own niche to stay in.  
It didn't seem like much of an idea when Marina thought it through, but what else could she do?  
Cautiously Marina peered out the knothole. She had been so confused when she had fled from the elders. Could she actually trail them?  
From her hiding place Marina watched two Brightwings dart through the trees, and in her ears she could hear the song the elders Delilah and Lucius used to lead the colony.  
Marina darted out of her tree, determined not to lose them. 


	6. Mislaid Plans

And a second chapter, for I felt guilty for giving it all in terribly short samples. 

* * *

For two or three hours Marina thought she was doing quite well. She wove in and out of the branches, always ducking and taking cover if a Brightwing turned tail. A few times she saw Lynx come back to harry the lagging ones, young ones like her who were easily distracted, or lend a wing to anyone who seemed too tired.  
_I can do this,_ Marina grinned to herself, keeping two or three Brightwings always in sight. _No one else will notice - _  
Something slammed into her back, and Marina screamed, more shocked than hurt. Wings beat in her face, and Marina tumbled in midair, struggling to see.  
Before her flew Lynx and several large males - Merlin, Hercules and Eternity, their faces grim.  
"Get out of here," snarled Lynx, showing wickedly-sharp fangs. "We don't want your curse."  
Marina flew off, terrified. She darted into a tree and tried to hide, hoping that they'd just leave. She could still hear the song, maybe if she waited...  
A glance from behind the tree confirmed the worst. Lynx and the males continued to hover in the air, watching her tree suspiciously. Not one of them moved.  
_They're waiting for me to move,_ Marina sighed mentally. Half-heartedly she spread her wings and took off, leaving the colony behind. 


	7. Island

Ano...I forgot that I didn't add the last chapter, I thought that I had finished! Well, this is the last chapter, hope you all enjoy it (although please don't read it if you're feeling suicidal - PLEASE).  
As for the cartoon - I've heard of it, but I don't have Teletoon. But I saw the picture and I didn't like it. Sorry for all you fans, but Shade looked too heroic-like in the pictures. I mean, he's a runt! 

* * *

For days Marina flew aimlessly. She'd catch bugs in a daze, and whenever she saw a tiger moth she'd turn tail and fly as fast as possible in the opposite direction.  
It was terrible, flying all alone. Sometimes she'd see another colony of bats and fly towards them, but they'd only have to take a look at her right wing before fleeing. She got used to flying and roosting so that the band wasn't visible, but she could only hide it for so long - as soon as she spread her wings there was no way it could be avoided.  
Worse were the times when she woke up alone. At first Marina would think that it had been a terrible dream, that she was still with her parents and the colony, and they were headed to their summer roost...and then she'd look around and realize that the nightmare was real, she _was_ alone.  
"No...no..." Marina moaned to herself as she flew through the sky. This band...she had tried to tear it off once, but it was like a second skin on her.  
This band had started all the trouble...but Marina was glad to have it. She didn't know why, but it felt good, like the feeling of being blessed when she first got it.  
However, it was a very small feeling. Marina looked up to see a flash of light, then another, then another...A Human building, with a flashing light on top.  
_I can identify with that thing,_ Marina thought, flapping towards the building. _Happiness, then gloom. Happiness, then gloom._  
She turned to stare at the shoreline she had been following, snapping up the odd mosquito here and there.  
_I want to die._  
Marina's head jerked back at the thought.  
_I want to die._  
_What will that accomplish?_  
_There's nothing to accomplish in the first place._  
_I want to die._  
Marina's tears slid down her face, dripping into the air. Without a second thought she plunged out towards the sea, determined to end it all.  
  
_I'll do it now._  
_Now._  
_**Now.**_  
For some reason the sight of those dark waves forced Marina back up and away. Each time she had thought that she had gathered her nerves, tucked in her wings and plunged, Marina still veered back up.  
_What's wrong with me? It's just water. Cold, dark water._  
Marina abruptly pulled away, trying to warm herself up and keep flying. She had looked back only once, and the coast that she had taken off from was long gone.  
_Nocturna help me, I'm scared._  
Marina closed her eyes, seeing the silver waves ripple up and down. _I'll do it now. End everything._  
She angled her wings and plunged, trying not to see, waiting for the cold to envelop her -   
And then she opened her eyes and screamed, flapping hard to pull back from her dive. _I'm such a weakling!_ Marina raged at herself as she regained altitude. _I can't do this...but if I don't, then I'll get tired, and die..._  
She felt herself slowly fall back towards the waves, and she suddenly pulled up, terrified.  
_I don't want to die!_  
Marina blinked in surprise at the thought. _Why wouldn't I?_ she asked the thought. _I'm tired, miserable_  
_Don't die._  
If she could've, Marina would have given the thought a good staring. What was this, strange thoughts flying into her head, like someone was guiding them -   
Out of the gloom rose a strip of faint silver, barely visible even in echo vision, let along by her eyes. Concentrating harder, Marina shot out more sound, and in confusion she realized what it was.  
"Land?"  
_Don't argue with the strangeness,_ Marina chided herself as she pumped her wings harder. They were tired, aching from the endless flight over the sea, but it wasn't that far, when she thought about it, only a few hundred more wingbeats. _You've been saved, in a strange way. Who would've thought I'd have found an island?_

* * *

Nah, I'm not going on to the part where she meets Shade. After all, we all read the novels, right?  
...  
**RIGHT?** But besides that, thank you all for so much support! 


End file.
